The wooden structure that was part of a fourbuilding replenishment station for the U.S. Army which is now located on the lot of the Ferguson Home Museum might tell some interesting stories. We know the structure was located on the North Canadian River on the Wolsey farm west and north of Watonga. It was moved to its present location in the early 1970s by a county commissioner and many workers. You may know from Ellen Shaw’s book “This Old House…in Watonga” that it took a little creative planning to get it moved across the bridge over the N. Canadian west of town. The reader is invited to enjoy the story.
Among those who may have used the facility in the 1880 were ‘Buffalo soldiers,’ so named by native Americans for their hair. Congress had created regiments of all Black soldiers during the war between the state but reduced the units to the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry. Both calvary units and the 24th Infantry served in western Oklahoma. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History article on Buffalo soldiers states “When the Twentyfourth moved out of Texas in 1880, it transferred to Forts Reno, Sill, and Supply in the Indian Territory and Fort Elliott in the Texas Panhandle. There they remained until 1888 when they were sent to Arizona.”
There were two Black officers that served in Oklahoma and the West. One was Henry O. Flipper with the 9th Calvary, a graduate of West Point who served at Ft. Sill. Another was Allen Allensworth, a chaplain. Most Black soldiers were unable to read and write, and part of the duties of chaplains assigned to each regiment was to instruct them. In July 1886 Chaplain Allen Allensworth arrived with his assignment to the 24th Infantry. Allensworth especially was convinced that Black soldiers needed a basic education to perform efficiently. While stationed at Fort Supply for a year and a half, he instructed them in the history of the United States and in English at the post school. Allensworth later developed a booklet on teaching practices and curriculum for Black troops.”
Though not proven, it is possible that one or both of these officers or their men may have stayed in our shelter as part of their duties along the N. Canadian River. What stories this structure might tell as the Buffalo soldiers performed their many duties near present day Watonga!
And don’t forget your tickets to the dinner and murder mystery at the Noble House fund raising event on Friday, Feb. 28 for the Friends of the Ferguson Home. Only a few tickets remain.